Former mixed doubles shuttler Goh Liu Ying.
PETALING JAYA: Former mixed doubles shuttler Goh Liu Ying believes the calendar is too hectic for the world’s top shuttlers.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist said the back-to-back tournaments on the BWF World Tour with compulsory domestic and regional competitions take a toll on shuttlers, leaving them more susceptible to injuries.
Liu Ying says BWF should reconsider the tournament calendar, allowing more rest for players in between competitions.
"For an experienced athlete, who are older, the most tournaments they can play in a year is 15. But that’s not even including competitions such as the World Championships, Asian Games, SEA Games, and so on.
"Those are also compulsory tournaments. Sometimes Chan Peng Soon and I competed in more than 20 tournaments in a year," she said.
Liu Ying’s comments come after men’s singles shuttler Viktor Axelsen withdrew from the World Tour Finals next week, but would be fined by the governing body for his no show in Hangzhou, China.
He is down with foot injury and has medical documents to support it.
Under top players commitment rule though, injured players must still make their way to the tournament venue to be part of the world body's promotional events. Failure to do so, will land them a hefty US$5,000 fine.
Liu Ying added that she also understood BWF’s intention to provide fans with more badminton action, but a balance between entertainment and the athletes’ well-being needs to be made.
"I understand that BWF want to attract fans and that many countries want to have tournaments, but maybe they can think about a better balance and not make the athletes feel too tired," she added.
